We really haven’t heard much from Cuti Romero in the press since he joined Tottenham Hotspur, but that’s changed now that he’s club captain, taking over from Son Heung-Min. Captains are expected to be the voice of the squad, and for the first time I can remember, we have an actual real-for-sure press conference from Cuti, ahead of Spurs’ Champions League opener against Villarreal tomorrow.
It was a great chance for the media to ask Cuti about past teammates (former Tottenham and current Villarreal
defender Juan Foyth) and the current Spurs campaign, but Cuti also answered some questions about comments he gave last season that seemed to imply he was heading to the exit door. When asked, Romero admitted that he maybe lets his mouth run away from him a tad, but that while he had some mild frustrations over the past year or so he never agitated or pushed to leave Spurs.
“Like I’ve said before, I spoke in an interview… sometimes in football, stuff comes out on social media and in the press in general. I never said I wanted to leave the club. Nothing ever came through me to that effect.
“The most important thing is that what people say here at the club and what I say. People like the manager and the president here. It’s important what they say, not anyone else. I’m very happy here. Tottenham for me is a family, one big family. The first day that I arrived here, they gave everything to me.
“I’m really happy since Thomas [Frank] has arrived. He took his decision to lengthen my contract, to extend my contract. I was happy at the club. I like the manager that has arrived. I like the way that we’re working, the way that we train together. Of course, always things can improve.
“That’s what we always try and do. That’s what we have to do, day to day. But I think everyone is taking the right decisions here at the club, at all levels, to make sure we’re going in the right direction to achieve success. I’m very happy here and that’s the key.”
The fun thing about reporting on player interviews is not just reporting what they say, but also reading between the lines to find out what they’re REALLY saying. Of course, there’s a danger in doing that as well, since you’re reading tea leaves to try to interpret what they’re not saying. In Cuti’s case, you don’t really have to stretch too much to get a sense that maybe he wasn’t 100% happy with the way things were going last season. He was asked to clarify comments from earlier in the season that referenced “obstacles” that exist at the club, and while Cuti admitted he probably messed up his media training a bit there, he implied that whatever frustrations he had were out of a desire for Spurs to become as good of a club as they can be.
“Yes, I did a lot of interviews right which seemed like I was talking badly about people inside the club but in the end I’m a person who sometimes makes mistakes and that’s it. I always want the best for the club.
“Sometimes, things have been said that aren’t true as well, but always everything I said is because I want there to be a structure of a club that can be at the top level, part of the big clubs. That’s why I was sometimes so angry before, but today I see a very, very organised club with a clear idea and a coach who is organising things and everyone is seeing that in a short space of time we are with him and that’s it.
“Absolutely everyone inside is looking in the same direction and that is the important thing. We hope obviously to continue like this. There are objectives for the season but as I said before our heads are in tomorrow’s game. We are going to enjoy that we’re back in the Champions League, that’s the most important thing. I see a fantastic group, a coach, who leaves us with a clear idea. The group is very happy and we have to go game by game but I believe we can achieve great things. We hope and we are going to fight to lift another trophy.
“As I said before it’s a bit of everything, it’s about the group of players, the coaching staff, the people that work for us, the executives obviously, in the end it depends on everyone that we pull in the same direction. I think that since Thomas arrived here, they have started to take all those decisions to go in the same direction. And then when it’s like that, everything runs a lot more easily right? The players know what the objectives are for the season and we continue like this. We started to improve and we want another title this season. We hope to carry on like this, improving, working all together to achieve the objectives.”
Cuti’s clearly happy with Frank in charge, and it’s up to interpretation as to what was making him angry last season. Losing matches, certainly, but beyond that — were there frustrations with Ange Postecoglou? Was he #LevyOut? We don’t know, and that’s probably the most we’re going to get out of him on this topic until he retires and writes his memoir. That said, Cuti has made it clear that he’s happy with the state of play at Spurs right now, and the direction of the club. He has a new contract extension and a captain’s armband, and he is a key player for the defending World Cup champions. Life’s pretty good, right?
“I think that I try and bring everyone together, of course. It’s the first time in my career that I’m an official captain, it’s something new. I’ve got a lot to learn about the role, but I’m fortunate enough to have shared a dressing room with people in my national team, some top leaders in the club and in the national team as well, so I can take bits from those examples. It’s always a lot easier when everyone is moving in the same direction.
“When you are like a family from the inside, it makes things a lot easier. It’s hard to keep everyone happy, because obviously everyone wants to play and there are some players, according to the situation, playing more minutes than others, but the group, as I say, is fantastic. It’s a lovely atmosphere in the place. I think it’s going to be a lot easier for things to turn out well with that family spirit that we’re creating.”
Tottenham kick off against Villarreal tomorrow (Tuesday) at 3:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. BST at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
